The Red Spirits
by CombustionNation
Summary: Korra needs to save RC once again, this time from people with weird spirit masks. Will she stop them or can the Red Spirits go and do whatever they please? Probably shippings, but I don't give a damn about them. Post Book 4 fanfic. Rated T for some swearing. Cover made by DaiLaiHeping, check her out on the Avatar Wiki!
1. Chapter 1: The People with the Masks

It was a rainy night in Republic City. The sun was setting and the people who were wise where returning to their homes, as in the Triple Threat Triad territory, it was not safe at night. But in an alley - the kind of alley you get mugged in - way back at the end stood two people, totally dressed in black with their hoods so far over their heads that they were covered completely.

-"Do you think he has the intel to pull this off?" A woman said.

-"Have you ever doubted him?" The other said. "No, but you never know. These Triad members are hard to track down, even harder to predict their next move."

-"I know, but he has some sources that might give him the information he needs."

As they spoke, a man was walking towards them, so silent that even the smallest creature in the alley couldn't hear him. He was so sneaky that even a single light beam could not cover a tiny part of his black clothes.

-"Good evening ladies, I presume the plan for today's _trip_ is all set," he said.

The ladies didn't even flinch when he spoke, because they were used to the sneaky approach. "Everything is set, only we miss the last piece of the puzzle. We were hoping that you have the piece."

"As a matter of fact, I do. According to my source, the Triple Threat Triad is going to visit a music shop right across the street. Our plan is to strike when they have not entered yet." The man was 100 percent sure of the plan.

"How are we going to handle the members? They sure aren't going to be defenceless," the first woman asked.

-"I have thought of that. As we are not yet known, I shall handle them alone to express our power," he explained to the women.

-"And so that you can show off your sword fighting skills," the second woman said, with a grin on her face.

-"Very funny, but no," he said.

With that he left the ladies and at the right time the Triad showed up. He approached them, and said: "Excuse me but do you know where the restroom is?"

One of the members turned around and responded with: "How about I kick your ass?"

"Wrong answer," he replied and he gave the man a punch in his stomach. The man groaned and fell down on the ground in pain. "Aww shit, you are in trouble now," a fellow gang member said as he made a stone pillar and kicked it right to the man in black. He stepped aside to dodge the pillar and gave the attacker an uppercut which broke his jaw. Before the last member could do anything, the man attacked him with a series of attacks which were the following: a kick in his stomach, two punches in the crotch and finally a kick in his forehead that knocked him out cold.

While he was fighting the members of the Triad, Mako was walking at the other side of the street. When the last member fell, he sprinted to the man while shouting: "Police! Stop where you are!"

The man said: "No, you will feel the wrath of the Red Spirits. Not yet, but soon." He turned around, and he revealed his face.

"A Red Mask!" Mako said, and two seconds later, he was gone.

_How am I going to stop these maniacs?_ Mako thought. _It looks like a new threat has appeared in Republic City, and I will need the Avatar to stop it_.


	2. Chapter 2: Visiting an old friend

**No reviews yet, but I will still continue this fanfic. I will be uploading a chapter a day (or least try), but I cannot upload these things regularly, I will try to do it ASAP, but I am also busy with writing the fanon on the original channel, the Avatar Wiki.**

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**Disclaimer: I do not care nor wanting to care about shippings/pairings. If you do, then I respect your choice, only then you would be dissapointed in this story because there aren't really much shippings/pairings. Also my stories will not be focused on a specific pairing, so take that in mind when you start to read. Thank you in advance for understanding.**

**Please R &amp; R**

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_A red mask, what does it mean?_ Mako thought as he boarded the ship that had the destination: The Southern Water Tribe. His need to travel to the tribe was to summon the only person who could really assist him in his pursuit of the Red Spirits. The person he needed for the job was the one and only _Avatar!_. She could help him face this growing threat like in the good old days. Mako was drifting away while the boat set off to the Southern Water Tribe.

* * *

"What are you going to do about this? Will the culprit be brought to justice?" The reporter asked as he was ready to write every detail the Chief was going to say. While Lin Beifong was preparing an answer, many photos were taken of the wounded Triple Threat Triad members who got their asses kicked by the mysterious man with the Red mask.

A policeman shouted: "The Chief of Police will now make an announcement!"

Lin Beifong stepped forward towards the crowd of desperate reporters who were waiting to write down the headline of the newspapers. "We do not know who these people are and what they want. The research is still going on so we don't have answers for you."

And with that said, she left the stage as the questions of the reporters were turning to indistinctly noise. She turned to Mako, who was their most valuable source for now.

"You need to make sure that nobody gets information from you." _And stay within the area where I can watch you,_ she thought, and was considering to say, but she stopped herself.

Before Mako could reply to this, a police officer approached her and said: "Chief, we found something in an alley relating to the case."

Lin signaled Mako to follow her and the officer, and they went to an alley that was too close to sprint to, but too far away to walk to. "We found a crucial piece of evidence here," the officer said, while holding a mask.

"That is the same mask that the man wore!" Mako said.

"And there is something more to it," the officer continued, while turning the mask so that you could see the inside. At the inside they read the following note: _Everyone that is reading this message should know our group. We are the Red Spirits, and we shall continue our quest for safety._

* * *

"Sir, would you be so kind to leave the boat please?"

Mako snapped out of his memory ride and returned to the present. "Huh? Where am I?"

"We are at the Southern Water Tribe, now would you please leave my boat?"

"Yes, of course." he said, and stepped on the pier where the boat had stopped. He looked around again and enjoyed the astonishing view. The Southern Water Tribe did change much since he last went there. From the pier you could see the palace, home of Chief Tonraq with its magnificent ice pillars and its large courtyard and balcony. The decorations variated from spiraling lines of snow on the pillars to the nice water patterns in the railing of the balcony. The buildings in the town before the palace were smooth, probably created with only one move, and the roads were parallel to each other, all smoothed with water in between, so there was no worry of bad infrastructure.

The community in the Southern Water Tribe was not a normal community. It was like a human body. The palace was like the brain and the town in front of it was like the body. When the brain sends signals to the body, they react to it and if the body sends signals to the brain, they also react to it and so on.

Mako wandered around the town for a little bit, just to check out all the changes and differences since he last saw this beautiful town. The sky was clear, with a little gust moving slowly around for no purpose. The sun shined bright, not too bright so that you could be blinded, but also not too dim so that you could enjoy the warmth of the sun while not being blinded at the same time. It was like everything here was in the advantage of Mako.

He decided to visit Korra the next day, and looked for a place to sleep and relax. He found a nice and cozy hotel, not too far from the palace. It was in the centre of the town and it was the best place to stay if you didn't count the palace. The building was like two stories high and per level ten rooms could fit in, so it was a decent building. However, when Mako entered the place it was almost empty. The woman behind the desk at the reception said that they never had a full house except when a special event was taking place in the centre of the town. "I will rent a room anyway,' Mako replied. He checked in for only one night, because he thought that he didn't need a second night and what do you know, he was right.

After a good night of sleep, Mako went to the palace with a good feeling about this whole _Red Spirits_ thing. As he knocked on the front gate of the palace, he took a good look at it. The doors itself were made out of ice, with water tribe emblems all over the door. The lock of the door was had a strange mechanism. A boulder and an ice block were in it, and under it were two holes. One hole had ash marks on it, while the other hole was clean. _What is this lock?_ He thought. His thought was answered as he heard a shout out of the palace.

"State your name and your business!" the voice said.

_Hey, I know that voice!_ Mako thought as he said: "My name is Mako and my business is to visit an old friend,"

"Mako! What am I surprised to see you!" the voice said. "Wait, I have to unlock the door first."

From the palace appeared Korra, and she walked to the front gate. "Hold on, I have to unlock it. Stand back!" She said.

The ice block retracted into the gate, and the boulder did the same thing. Suddenly, out of the ashed hole fire came out, and out of the other hole air came out. Then, with a mighty shriek the massive gate opened. In the middle of the small road that was behind the gate stood Korra, the girl that Mako once had a relationship with (that he blew up like Michael Bay does in his movies. No, not really).

"Mako, it is good to see you!" She said, surprised. "Why did you stop by?"

"I wanted to talk to you. I suppose you don't know about the attack, right?" Mako said.

"No, what happened?" Korra asked.

"A group called the _Red Spirits_ beat up some Triple Treat Triad members," Mako replied. Korra started grinning.

"What is funny about this?"

"Nothing, just that they weren't _nice_ to me. That's all," she said, with the grin still on her face.

"Who made the front gate?" Mako asked.

"Oh, Asami designed that gate. It is made so that only the Avatar can open it."

_Or a firebender, an airbender, a waterbender and an earthbender who are bending the elements at the same time,_ Mako thought, while considering to tell her. He added the pros and cons. Pros: none. Cons: A lot of hate and bullshit. Nope, not worth it.

They entered the palace, and Mako was astonished by the beauty of the interior. The main hall was one story tall, with several doors leading to the bedrooms, living room, dining room, underground bending arena and of course the balcony that revealed the town with such a magnificent view in an angle you couldn't find better. The floor was covered with a red and blue carpet that tied the room together. On the carpet was a pattern of elements: fire, air, water and earth. Just like the Avatar Cycle.

"Would you like to stay for the night?" Korra asked. _I hope he says yes, I hope he says yes!_ She thought, while Mako was considering the offer.

"Uh ... sure. I have nowhere else to go," Mako replied.

_Oh my god, he said yes! I know that I am with Asami, but now Mako doesn't have somebody in his life, he looks so cute,_ she thought, while turning around and blushing.

"So what would you like to do? Sparring, relaxing or something else?" _Maybe look back at all the moments we had together?_ Korra thought.

Mako seemed to intercept the thought, and replied: "I would like to spar first, and maybe _relive some memories_ later."

_Oh my god, oh my god oh my gooooooooooodddddddd! He said yes again! Why did I break up with him?_ She thought. _Because you both found work more important than your relationship,_ said a tiny voice in her head. _Shut up you,_ she replied.

The sparring went smooth, so smooth to the extent that someone would think that their minds were connected. They were like two Duo Dai swords; If the first one struck, the other one defended and covered the separate sword. They were two parts of one. The sparring was done in such a fashion. When Korra attacked, Mako defended and struck quickly after.

After the sparring, they went back to the main hall and Korra asked: "Do you still want to _relive some memories_?"

"No, I think I will call it a day. See you tomorrow!" With that said, he went upstairs to the bedrooms.

The tiny voice in Korra's head said: _You see, he doesn't have feelings for you anymore._ "I can always hope that he changes his mind," she said to herself, and went to bed.


	3. Chapter 3: When the going gets tough

**I was bored so I am uploading this chapter right now. I have received some feedback (thank you for that :D) and most of it was positive. I think that the majority of you will be happy with the story that is planned.**

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**Disclaimer: I do not care nor wanting to care about shippings/pairings. If you do, then I respect your choice, only then you would be dissapointed in this story because there aren't really much shippings/pairings. Also my stories will not be focused on a specific pairing, so take that in mind when you start to read. Thank you in advance for understanding.**

**Please R &amp; R**

* * *

It was 9 o'clock in the morning when Korra woke up. She sat up and looked around the room, her beautiful bedroom. Her room was decorated with a combination of cultures, with meditation beads from the Air Nomads, a fireplace with Fire Nation emblems all over it, a statue of a monkey that is decorated with red gems and a shelf with Water Tribe scrolls. A closet, filled with her outfits and Naga were also present.

When she went down, she found Mako at the dining table, eating breakfast. He was dressed in his normal police outfit, nothing special.

"Hey, how are you?" he said, while finishing his breakfast.

"Fine, how did you sleep?"

"I hardly slept, because I was wondering about the Red Spirits case," he replied, followed by a yawn.

"Oh yeah, what is that case actually about? You forgot to tell yesterday," she said, while grabbing a bowl and some noodles.

"A man with a red spirit mask ambushed some TTT members, they got hurt pretty bad," Mako said, while observing Korra eating noodles. She was failing to do so, which make Mako smile.

_He is watching, don't fuck it up more!_ she thought, before it was too late. A noodle landed on her upper lip, laying in such a way that it looked like a mustache.

"What's funny?" She said, while Mako was laughing his ass off. "Oh nothing special, except the facial hair!" He said while laughing even louder, until Korra had enough and firebended in his mouth, making him cough.

"Okay, enough fun for now. Are there any leads on the case?" She said, after Mako stopped laughing.

"Only a mask identical to what the man wore, saying: 'Everyone that is reading this message should know our group. We are the Red Spirits, and we shall continue our quest for safety.'"

"Okay, so shall we go back to Republic City then?" She said.

"Yeah, we are done here," Mako replied, while Korra finished her noodles. Mako thanked Korra's parents for their hospitality, left the palace and went to the harbor.

"I think I will enjoy seeing Republic City again," Korra said, while boarding the boat. "I think you will." Mako said while standing next to her on the boat.

_He isn't paying attention, make your move!_ She thought, but she didn't make the move. And after a few seconds, he went to the back of the boat. _Too bad, you could make a move. but YOU DIDN'T!_ The tiny voice said. _I don't know who I like anymore!_ Korra thought, while the boat was untied and started the journey to Republic City.

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_Last night, in Republic City_

A man, dressed in black, walked on the sidewalk until he went right and into a square plaza, where three men stood. They turned around and the middle person of the three stepped forward. He said: "Well well well, look what we have here. I think it is time for a rematch. Guys! Get in here!"

On cue, three groups of three men each jumped down. In each group there were a firebender, an earthbender and a waterbender. "Firebenders, ATTACK!"

The four firebenders took a bending stance and shot four flame rays at the man. The rays advanced rapidly, but the man didn't move. When the flame rays were only 10 centimetres away from his face, they stopped. The four flame rays stopped, and they added up into four flames in front of the man's face. The flames just floated there, with the Triad members having no control.

"Okay... That didn't went like I wanted to. Oh well, I have more weapons in my reach." Now, the man on the left of the firebender stepped forward, and shouted: "Earthbenders, ATTACK!"

The earthbenders took a bending stance, and kicked four boulders towards the man. When they reached the 10 centimetres away from his face, they also stopped. The boulders floated towards the man, and were on the **exact** line like the four flames.

"I am losing my patience over here! Why can nobody hit him?!" The firebender - clearly the leader - was getting frustrated. _Only one shot left on taking him down, or at least hitting him. I fear the worst,_ he thought, while he motioned the waterbender to commence the attack. The waterbender stepped forward, whispered: "I hope this works." and then shouted: "Waterbenders, ATTACK!"

The waterbenders took their stances and shot four streams of water, aimed at the man in the entrance of the plaza. When they reached the usual 10 centimetres in front of the face, they stopped _again_. The water formed into four orbs and they floated next to the boulders and flames.

"How is that possible? Are you the Avatar or something?" The leader asked, with a strange look.

"No, he isn't the Avatar," said a woman, who walked out of the shadow and into the open. She stopped and stood on the right side of the man.

"And it is certainly possible. How, we aren't going to tell you," another woman said, while walking out of the shadow and stood on the other side of the man. "We're going to show you!"

When she said that, the man thrust out the palms of his hands, sending the flames flying towards the Triads with a speed so fast they couldn't react in time. All the firebenders were hit, and some serious burns were on their chest, neck and head. A tenth of a second later, the woman on the right side made a slashing motion. The water froze into small ice blades and started to advance towards the surprised Triads. They cut in their flesh and made the waterbenders cry like they had never cried before. A second later, the other woman - the earthbender - stomped the ground and the boulders went back to their creators, which knocked them out quickly. The man and two women walked over to the _down-and-out_ triads and dropped some money.

"I think this will cover the hospital bill," the man said, and when he wanted to turn around, until something popped up in his mind. "Oh yeah, one last thing. Tell the Avatar that she needs to stay out of our way, or else she faces the consequences. Do you think you can tell her that?"

The firebender, who had a significant burn on his chest, nodded wildly to avoid more pain. "Good, we're done here," he said while he walked towards the two women, and together they disappeared.

* * *

_Present time, Republic City harbor_

The boat docked at the harbor, and Mako &amp; Korra stepped on the dock.

"Ah, Republic City. I haven't been here for a while," Korra said, while sniffing the - fresh - air.

Mako noticed that a police officer was standing at the beginning of the dock. The officer walked towards them, and said: "Mako, it is good that you're back."

"Why, what's going on?" Mako asked, surprised.

"They struck again, Mako. Last night," the officer replied.

_Aww fuck, they don't stop, do they?!_ He thought.

"And this time, they left a message that worries us."


	4. Chapter 4: Assault

**As I said, I try to upload a chapter a day, but from tomorrow on, the uploading will become irregular. I will try to upload as soon as I can, but I'm not promising anything. Thank you all for your reviews and I will be uploading ASAP!**

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**Disclaimer: I do not care nor wanting to care about shippings/pairings. If you do, then I respect your choice, only then you would be dissapointed in this story because there aren't really much shippings/pairings. Also my stories will not be focused on a specific pairing, so take that in mind when you start to read. Thank you in advance for understanding.**

**Please R &amp; R**

* * *

Mako and Korra arrived at the hospital that treated the injured triads. When they went inside, the journalists turned around and started taking pictures of Korra. She and Mako waded through the sea of journalists until they reached Lin. She was standing behind a row of officers, and when Korra and Mako passed the officers, she nodded slightly. The officers started pushing the journalists back, giving Korra and Mako time to regain their breath and talk to Lin.

"Follow me, I know where they are," Lin said. "Walk up the stairs and take the first door on your left. You should find the man with the message there."

"Thanks," Korra replied, and she and Mako walked up the stairs leading to the leader of the Triads that were attacked. When they entered, the leader sat up in his hospital bed. His chest had a large scar covering his upper torso.

"Oh, it's you," he said, his voice hiding a slight sarcastic tone.

"Yes, it's me. Are you going to tell what you know or what?" Korra replied, annoyed by his tone.

"Does it look like I can do anything else?" He said, his voice dripping with sarcasm and annoyance.

"Don't get all sarcastic, I can hurt you until you stop if you continue now!" Korra said, her voice filled with anger.

"Okay, okay, sheesh," he said, now with a calmer tone.

"The man - a firebender - said that you should stay out of their way, or you would face the consequences."

"WHAT?!" Korra shouted. "Who do these people think they are, threatening me like that!"

While Korra was getting furious, Mako had a puzzling look on his face. _How did they know that the Avatar was coming to Republic City?_ He thought.

Korra noticed his look and asked: "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, nothing," Mako quickly replied, giving away that he was hiding something. "Come on, we're done here," he said, motioning to the door.

They left the room and later the hospital, with assistance of the police. The day went over quickly, with Korra and Mako talking to people who saw the Red Spirits, and questioning some Triads about them as well.

When the sun was setting, they decided to call it a day but needed a place to stay. "What about Air Temple Island? I'm pretty sure Tenzin could give us a place to stay," Korra said, while they were walking through the busy streets.

"Okay, that sounds like a plan," Mako replied, and they went to Air Temple Island. When they arrived, the sun had set and the stars lighted up the sky. They went to the main yard and shouted: "The Avatar has returned!"

A second later, they heard a window open, and a groggy Tenzin popped out and said: "God damnit, who is shouting? It's fucking 1 o'clock in the night!"

"Sorry Tenzin, I was wondering if we could stay here," Korra replied, with a slight tone of shame in it.

"Sure, just go to your old sleeping place, it's empty," Tenzin said, while yawning.

"Okay, see ya tomorrow!" Mako said, while Tenzin closed his window while muttering: "I wish they didn't come here!"

Korra and Mako went to the sleeping quarters and they both went in their separate rooms. Korra immediately fell on the bed and went out like a light.

* * *

She awoke when she heard her name. She went to the window and opened it. It was about 4 o'clock and she looked down. A woman stood underneath her window and said: "Catch this!" When she said that, an ice spear emerged from her coat and struck the top of the sealing above her, just missing her head. She stumbled back, falling on the floor in the process. When she stood up again, the woman was gone. There was a note attached to the spear, which she grabbed.

When she opened it, this stood on it: _Make another move, and you will regret it. We will succeed in our quest for safety, and if you stand again in our way, we __**will**__ take you down. For good!_

She was taken aback by it, and went immediately to Mako's room. He also had received the message, and said to her: "What are we going to do?"

"We're going on the assault. And start the hunt of the _Red Spirits_," she replied, before she went back to her room and thought: _I hope I can stop those maniacs, or else..._

With that last thought, she went to sleep.


	5. Chapter 5: The Hunt

**As promised, another chapter for you guys! I enjoy uploading these and I hope that you enjoy reading this fanfic as well!** _Houdoe en bedankt!_ (translation not provided by me!)

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**Disclaimer: I do not care nor wanting to care about shippings/pairings. If you do, then I respect your choice, only then you would be dissapointed in this story because there aren't really much shippings/pairings. Also my stories will not be focused on a specific pairing, so take that in mind when you start to read. Thank you in advance for understanding.**

**Please R &amp; R**

* * *

The next morning, Korra and Mako woke up wondering what actually happened last night. But it came back when they read the note again:

_Make another move, and you will regret it. We will succeed in our quest for safety, and if you stand again in our way, we __**will**__ take you down. For good!_

After breakfast they didn't know where to go. They were just standing on the dock, looking at the skyline of Republic City. Their peaceful moment was interrupted by a police boat that was advancing fast towards them. On the boat stood Lin.

"Lin, what are you doing here?" Korra asked, surprised by her visit.

"I'm here because we found a crucial clue regarding the Red Spirits case," Lin replied.

"So, where is the clue?" Mako asked, wondering what it could be.

"It's at the police station, but we have to hurry. Get in the boat!" Lin replied, with haste in her voice.

"No, I'm going on my own. It's faster than your boat," Korra said, with a slight tone of "I'm too good for that".

"I'll go with the boat, then we could discuss what the clue is about," said Mako.

_Why Mako, what's wrong with waterbending and a strong Avatar?_ Korra thought, trying to stay calm. _If you want to prove that you still have feelings for him, you get on that boat RIGHT NOW!_ said the tiny voice in her head.

"Wait, I do want to go with the boat!" Korra shouted, realising too late that she was shouting.

"Okay, just get in." Lin said, calmly. With that said, Korra and Mako walked towards the boat and stepped on it.

The boat started its engine, and they left Air Temple Island with a rush. They walked inside a room and sat down on two couches.

"Okay, so what's the clue about?" Mako asked, very curious about the thing.

"It's a map of Republic City with headquarters of some Triads marked, and some times were on it as well. Probably the times of attack," Lin said, while the boat was closing in on the harbor.

"When is the attack?" asked Korra, now curious and ready for action.

"Tonight. If the map is correct, they strike several headquarters tonight," Lin replied.

"Are there any signs of the launch point of the attack?" Mako asked, hoping she had the answer that was positive.

"No, there aren't any signs of the launch point," Lin replied, with disappointment.

"Okay, just wondering," Mako replied, clearly showing his disappointment.

When they arrived in the harbor, Lin, Korra and Mako immediately stepped on the dock and went to Lin's car. They used the car to get to the police station, where they went to a room with a very old map on a table in the middle.

"Here is it, we can plan our strategies from this map. I think that we should set up barricades for protection." Lin said, while pointing at strategic points on the map.

"Are you sure that they will attack the marked locations," Korra said. "Because it could easily be a trap."

"Do you have any other ideas about taking them down?" replied Lin, starting to get pissed off. "If you do, you should speak up NOW!"

"Okay, okay, jeez I was just suggesting something," Korra said.

Lin said: "I'll be back, just stay here." With that she left the room.

_You're alone with Mako, show that you still have feelings for him!_ said the tiny voice in her head. _Okay, okay easy now. I'm sure he doesn't have feelings for me anymore._

_How can you be so sure when you aren't hitting on him? Try it out and you will have your answer,_ the tiny voice replied, making Korra considering the offer.

_What can go wrong?_ she thought, preparing some lines with the secret message: **I still have feelings for you.**

After the awkward silence, Korra started the conversation.

"What have you been up to?" she asked to Mako, waiting for the response.

"You know, police work and stuff," he replied, still not knowing what's going on.

"Okay, and how's the police work going?" Korra asked, eager to know if he was finding out what was going on.

"Oh, you know, normal. Investigating, writing reports, all the things a detective has to do. Why are you suddenly interested in my work? Do you want to become a detective?" Mako replied, starting to suspect that something was going on.

"No, I just didn't see you for a long time, so I wanted to catch up with you on how you're doing," Korra replied. _And if you still have feelings for me!_ she thought.

"Korra, you sound like you're hiding something. What is it?" Mako asked, irritated.

"N-No-Nothing, really nothing," Korra stuttered quickly, hoping that he didn't get angry.

"SPIT IT OUT NOW!" Mako shouted, anger taking over his voice and body.

"I just h-" Korra started, but she got cut off by Lin, who entered the room and said: "I rallied every officer that I could muster, and the TTT are also willing to co-operate,"

"What's going on, is something wrong?"

"No Lin, me and Korra were just _talking_," Mako replied, his voice hinting sarcasm.

"No time to talk, come on!" Lin said, while motioning the two to follow. They walked back to Lin's car and they drove off into the city.

* * *

_Republic City, the night of the attack_

Mako, Korra, Bolin, Lin, metalbending officers and TTT members were hiding behind the earth and metal barricades that were set up. Korra and Mako picked up Bolin in the city that afternoon because he could be useful for setting up traps. Anyhow, they were crouching behind the barricades, waiting for the Red Spirits to show up.

"Are you sure they would attack tonight and right here?" Bolin whispered to Lin.

"We have no other leads, this was the only thing that we could do to stand a chance," Lin whispered back.

"I don't think that they will show up." Korra said, while standing up and giving away her cover.

As if on cue, a man dressed in black with a Red Spirits mask stepped out of the shadows and into the view of Korra. Korra noticed him quickly and motioned the rest to stand up. Mako, Bolin and Lin stood up and faced the man head on.

The man said: "Well well well, look who took the bait. Did you really think that you could plan an assault on us? We have proved to know when and where to strike."

"You there, stand down and we won't have to hurt you!" Lin shouted.

"Me, hurt me? Hahaha, I'm not going to be hurt," the man replied, self-confidence making his words stronger then they were.

"Do you have anything to say for yourself before you get arrested?" Mako shouted now, not very confident.

"Just four words," the man replied, not flinching or moving at all.

"Well, spit it out!" Korra shouted, waiting for the answer.

"Yippee ki yay, motherfucker!"

That was the last thing the four heard; the man was the last thing they saw before a white flashing light blinded them and a deep sounding boom followed by an explosion happened in front of them.

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**Here's a question for you all, who can find the movie quotes in this chapter? Leave them together with your review if you like!  
**


	6. Chapter 6: Ambush

**Here ya go, not on Monday, but I told you that I will try to upload a day, not promising anything! Thanks for all your support and views!** _Houdoe en bedankt!_

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**Disclaimer: I do not care nor wanting to care about shippings/pairings. If you do, then I respect your choice, only then you would be dissapointed in this story because there aren't really much shippings/pairings. Also my stories will not be focused on a specific pairing, so take that in mind when you start to read. Thank you in advance for understanding.**

**Please R &amp; R**

* * *

It was Korra who woke up first. She had a horrible headache and her sight was blurry. But she remembered everything when the man came walking towards them. He didn't notice her while she was still adapting to the sudden change of the scene. She looked around in horror. Mako and Bolin were lying several metres away from her, with second degree burns all over their body. Their face, fortunately, was not burned. She couldn't think of the idea that Mako and Bolin had scars like Zuko. Lin and several others were lying behind her, the barricades on fire and screams of pain filling the night sky of Republic City. Luckily, nobody was dead.

She turned again to the man but with no strength to fight him. But before he went to her, he walked to the once called **bending brothers**. He looked at their faces, and without showing emotion to everyone else, he felt bad for the brothers. "At least your faces are still in good shape. You wouldn't want a scar like-" He started, but stopped when he heard Korra cough because of the smoke. He faced her and slowly walked to her for added effect. And believe it or not, it worked. Korra felt the fear inside her grow as the man approached. She didn't fear somebody so much since Amon. He stood right besides her and whispered in her ear: "I told you, you shouldn't stand in our way." His voice was low and creepy, so she felt a shiver crawl down her spine as he turned and left the scene. After that she passed out.

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_Some time after the ambush_

Mako woke up with a pain stinging like hell. He looked around him and said: "Shit, look at this place!" The buildings behind him were destroyed, and large boulders and piles of debris were scattered all over the place. The last fires were put out by some waterbenders, and several civilians were evacuated from their homes. The lightning also destroyed an apartment complex nearby. The complex was burned down to the ground. Apparently, the residents got enough money to buy for themselves a new home. The medics were helping wounded officers and TTT's by healing them, and Mako was looking for his brother.

"Bro, where are you? Come on, Bo! Bo! Bolin!" he yelled in the sky, while looking all over the place trying to spot Bolin.

"Calm down, my head hurts like I have been through hell and back!" Bolin said, while rubbing his head. He was being healed by a nurse.

"Thank the Spirits you're okay, I thought I lost you," Mako exclaimed, hugging his brother firmly."Okay, ouch, ouch, OUCH!" Bolin screamed from the pain that was coming from his back. "These burns aren't going to disappear soon."

"No, they aren't," Korra said while walking up to them. Mako went in for the hug, which made Korra blush a little. "I thought I lost you too! I don't know what I would do if you weren't here anymore!"

Korra started to blush harder, making Bolin snicker.

"What's so funny bro?" Mako asked to Bolin, which was still snickering.

"Nothing, nothing," he said with a grin on his face.

Mako decided to drop the subject, which was a relief for Korra, since she then stopped blushing. They walked over to Lin, who was being healed.

"So, what's the new plan Chief? Are we going to sit back and watch?" Korra asked, being dead serious.

"I guess so, we have no other options. We're out of clues and we have no idea where they are or where they operate from. This is it, we're almost out. Only patrolling can be useful, but other than that, we're out," Lin said, the shame of defeat hanging in her eyes like smoke in a closed room. It was trapped and you couldn't let it out.

"Officer Saikhan, start cleaning up the rubble," she commanded.

"Yes, Chief!" he replied, and walked away. He went to the nearest house and started moving boulders and debris. Until he found something.

"Chief, you want to see this!" he shouted, while walking to them. He had a crumpled note in his hands.

"I found this under debris. Looks like we got a clue!" he said excited. Lin however wasn't excited at all. The last clues they had on this case were either false or of no relevance to catching the people who were responsible. He handed her the note and then left the group.

She read the note and then handed to the rest. Her look was worried, and they knew that the note then couldn't be any good.

The following was scribbled on the note:

_To the Avatar and her friends,_

_We told you to not stand in our way, and sadly you paid the price. However, if you fuck up the following, you will pay double for you idiotic actions._

_Come to the water directly under Kyoshi Bridge at the next midnight. A small island will be there. Don't bring any police with you, or they will pay the price tenfold that you will pay._

_See you there, and hopefully for you, only the ones I expect._

_The Leader of the Red Spirits_

"Do we have a choice?" Bolin asked, scared by the note and the message on it.

"I don't think so, if we want to solve this mystery, we have to use every clue we have," Mako said.

"Kyoshi Bridge at midnight it is."


	7. Chapter 7: Returning the Favor

**Sorry for the time between uploads, but I was busy with school, my entry for the Fanonbenders contest, being lazy and with reading and reviewing other stories that I follow. But nonetheless, enjoy this new chapter of TRS! **_Houdoe en bedankt!_

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**Disclaimer: I do not care nor wanting to care about shippings/pairings. If you do, then I respect your choice, only then you would be dissapointed in this story because there aren't really much shippings/pairings. Also my stories will not be focused on a specific pairing, so take that in mind when you start to read. Thank you in advance for understanding.**

**Please R &amp; R**

* * *

_Water under Kyoshi Bridge, night of the meeting_

Korra, Mako, Lin and Bolin were aboard a boat that was travelling towards the water under Kyoshi Bridge. When they got there, the leader of the Red Spirits was standing on water. As they closed in on him, they heard the man's muffled shouts. The shouts were muffled by the traffic that was on top of the bridge, making his shouts only hearable for those who were on the water.

"Stop the boat, and enter the island where I'm standing on," he shouted.

"But there ain't no island h-" Korra started, but got cut off by a rumbling noise. They looked into the water, and an island was slowly rising from the sea, with the leader standing on it. For the rest was the island empty, as there was nothing more they needed.

"Go stand in the front, about ten metres away from me. Otherwise there will be no talking at all," he said, now more quiet.

Korra, Bolin, Mako and Lin did as they were told. The four of them stepped on the island and they walked towards the leader. They stopped ten metres away from the leader, like he said. Korra was the first one to speak:

"Why are you doing this?"

"Haven't you got the message yet? We want safety," the leader replied.

"Safety for who?" asked Lin, curious to know with what he would respond.

"Safety for the everyday non-bender citizen. We protect the citizens from the Triple Threats. Why? Because the police doesn't have the time/manpower to do it. And if they do, they only fight crime when they get called or when they see it. But the reason you don't get called, is that the citizens who watch these crimes happen are also oppressed by the Triple Threats. The reason that you fail to fight all the crime, is because crime happens everywhere around you cops. But you don't see it. If you don't see it, you won't do anything and if you won't do anything, they can just go on. That's where we come in. We fight the crime that you won't see, and you will never see until you clean the streets of Republic City from the Triple Threats and other Triads. Until that day comes, the day that every last Triad has left the city, we **will** make sure every non-bender citizen is safe from their wrath. And **anyone** who stands in our way, will face the consequences. But you already experienced that, didn't you?" the man responded, and the four benders needed some time to process everything he said, and sadly, it was true. Everything he said was true.

"But why would we stop you?" Bolin said, and Mako facepalmed himself.

"Didn't you know? DIDN'T YOU FUCKING KNOW THAT YOU WERE THERE IN THE AMBUSH TO STOP US?!" the man snapped back at him, making Bolin shiver and tears started swelling up in his eyes.

"The reason that you would stop us, is that what we do isn't _legal_," the leader said the last word with an irritating voice, which made Mako snort.

"Don't you blame legal on this madness!" Mako shouted, while he started to heat up.

"Oh, what would you do? What would you do when people get **intimidated**, **threatened** or even worse **hurt**? What would you do when you walk past an alley and people are beating up innocent non-benders? WHAT WOULD YOU FUCKING DO?!" the man yelled, making Mako heat up even more. He was ready to strike if the leader would say anything more that would insult legality.

"What would you do when-" he started, but he got cut off by Mako. "FUCK YOU!" he yelled while he started moving his arms in circular motions while sparks gathered at his fingertips. The rest stepped back a few steps for safety.

The rest stood back while Mako had a long stream of lightning and was ready to shoot it at the man. He didn't move nor flinch, while Mako took aim and shot it right at him. He caught the lightning with one hand and redirected it into the sky. The thunder roared through the night sky, while everyone in Republic City could see the lightning up in the sky, it went that high. When the lightning had dissolved, the leader whistled. The waterbender ascended from the water, and the earthbender lifted herself out of the water with a slab of earth.

"Do it," he said, and the waterbender made such a large wave, it could easily be caused by a tsunami. The earthbender however first made a tremor from the slab to the island, which nobody could stop. After they regained their balance, the wave hit the small island, stunning everybody in the process. For everyone, the lights went out. And they didn't turn on for a long time.

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_Kyoshi Bridge, the following morning at noon_

Lin was the first one to regain consciousness, but she wasn't on the island. She was on Kyoshi Bridge, which wasn't filled with Satomobiles, for some reason. She looked to her right and she saw her officers restraining reporters and citizens, who were eager to know what happened. She stood up, still dizzy from the wave that hit them. Her sight was blurry, and she tried walking towards a blur, which was officer Saikhan. However, she almost fell and had to grab the railing. Saikhan came walking to her, saying: "Chief, are you alright?"

"No," she said, her sight slowly returning. "What happened after we went down?"

"We found you unconscious on the bridge, so we cleared the bridge and started restraining the citizens and reporters," Saikhan replied, relieved to see the chief awake.

"Where are the _Red Spirits_?" she asked with a raised eyebrow, which disappeared after she saw the disappointing look on Saikhan's face.

"We don't know where they are, but they left a note," he said.

"Bring it to me," she said. Saikhan nodded and walked away. Lin turned around and saw the others waking up.

"Where are we?" Korra asked.

"What happened?" Bolin said to no one in particular.

"Where are those bastards!?" Mako exclaimed.

"Easy now, your questions can be answered soon. Not now," Lin said, while Saikhan returned with a piece of paper in his hand.

"Here it is," he said, handing the note.

"Good, wait for my orders," she replied, while she took the note.

"Copy," he said. He walked away.

"You got to read this," Lin said, while holding the note. They got up and walked over to Lin. They peaked over her shoulder to read the note.

This stood on it:

_I told you, don't involve police. They will pay for it tenfold. Wait for it..._

Then, they heard an explosion.


	8. Chapter 8: Boom Boom Pow

**I apologize for not being active for the past week or so, I had a lot on my mind and school really took up my time. For all of you who read my fanfic on the Avatar Wiki know how it is going to end, but for those who haven't read it yet, here is the next chapter of The Red Spirits!** _Houdoe!_

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**Warning: I don't care nor wanting to care about shippings. You may ship anything that you want, but I don't really care. So there isn't a real focus on shippings in this fanfic. Thank you in advance.**

**Please R &amp; R**

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They all clutched their ears when the explosion took place. They looked in horror to the city, where a large ash cloud covered the sky and painted it black. Not a single cloud was in the sky, so the sight was astonishing but terrifying to look at. After the first explosion, the city was calm again, or so they thought. Korra, Mako, Lin and Bolin decided that they should go to the explosion site to see if they could help. They walked to the connection of the bridge and the city, but froze on the spot. Another deep boom raged through the sky, almost breaking the sound barrier and this time a large fire blazed up high in the early afternoon sky. And if that wasn't enough, _another_ explosion was happening, this time debris was falling from the sky. The leader was right that the police would pay the price tenfold, because two of the three explosions were at the police headquarters. Korra, Lin, Bolin and Mako however didn't know that _yet_. They would find out soon.

They started running towards the city and found a large group of running civilians coming towards them. Most of them were screaming and everybody was running to safe ground. Nobody was this scared since Kuvira invaded the city with her giant mecha suit. Nevertheless, they were running like crazy. The four found a couple of abandoned Satomobiles and Lin broke one of the windows, opened the car and got in. The others were a little startled, but regained their composure quickly and got in too. They drove off towards the fire, in the opposite direction of the civilians who were running away from the fire.

As soon as they reached the centre of the city, they saw what blew up; The police station was burned down to the ground, with nothing but the statue of Toph left. Her head and left arm were blown off, and the sight wasn't anything but horrifying. The officers that were outside (_the ones that actually survived the explosion!_) were heavily wounded. Lin got out of the car and walked to one of the surviving officers.

"What happened?" Lin asked, not really wanting to know the answer.

"It happened out of nowhere Chief. Suddenly, a man was taking over the radios, saying:

_Wait for it..._

Then the lights went out, and an explosion occurred. I had enough time to get out, but most officers didn't survive the blast," the officer said, sadness taking over his voice while tears were welling up inside his eyes. He started to cry silently and nobody thought that it was stupid. Even Lin, who often stays in her tough role, couldn't resist to his silent cries. If she didn't have anything to do, she also would cry silently.

"Shit, that leader didn't exaggerate when the police would pay tenfold the price we would pay," Lin said, realising what they unleashed upon the police. So much lives lost for just one thing. She was a bad person and she knew it. She insisted that officers would watch the scene. And now all those people are dead. It was all her fault.

"What have we done?" said Lin to no one in particular.

"All we can do now is go towards the other places where the explosions went off and save as much people as we can. We must move on, we cannot linger," Korra said, helping a shocked Lin to the car. Mako and Bolin were right behind them. They all got in the car and drove off towards the second burning ground.

Lin had a mental and physical breakdown when she saw the remaining pieces of the second exploded building. It was the storage/communication building, all the equipment of the Metalbending Police Force was stocked in this building and all the assets of the police force were controlled in this building. After the battle with Kuvira, the police force grew so much they had to expand the building, and the storage and communication were moved into this new building. And now, it was all gone, because of her! After she saw the headquarters burned, she had little hope that the police would survive this attack. Now, she had none.

"I feel dead inside," Lin said, defeat and sadness the only emotions being used in her voice.

"Come on Lin, at least the airships are still u-" Bolin started, trying to comfort Lin, but he froze - like the rest of the Krew - when they saw that the airships were going down one by one, like popping balloons with something sharp. One airship nearby exploded with such a blast, that it rained metal and more noticeable, **bodies**. An officer landed -his face first- just a few feet away from Bolin, who immediately jumped away from it. His body was burned badly, and he was dead for sure. As the body and metal shower continued, Mako shouted to Korra: "We got to get out of here."

"Same here. We got to go to the last bomb site, check out what the damage is there," Korra said. They quickly grabbed Lin and Bolin and got to the car they used. When they got in, they thought that they were safe; they were wrong. A large chunk of metal descended on them, cutting right through the roof in between the driver and the one next to the driver. They were all terrified when they saw the chunk in the car, but Lin didn't care. She didn't care about anything after she saw what happened to the police force, _her_ police force! She was sure that Toph would be disappointed when she hears about the force. How they all got blown up and that only a few survived. And who would be blamed? Lin Beifong, the almighty Chief of police, great successor of the legendary Toph Beifong. Who was she kidding, she fucked up bad.

The car followed one of the many smoke screens and they arrived at the third bomb site. They got out and looked; the headquarters of the TTT, it vanished. Only small fires and some burned wood was left of the HQ. Nothing more, nothing less. Just that, small fires and burned wood. No bodies, those were already ash. They found a half burned note:

_You saw our power, and you don't want to see more. Time to finish it._

_Come to Aang Memorial Island by nightfall, no jokes, just us._

Mako, Bolin and Korra looked at the note, and nodded to each other. Lin didn't respond, she was too much broken down to even go with them. The three of them decided that Lin should go to Air Temple Island to rest. They would go to Aang Memorial Island to wrap up this story.

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A woman stood on a hill, facing Republic City. The city was burning, and several ash clouds were hanging in the sky, making the mood grim. The sun couldn't penetrate the black clouds, so it was pretty dark in the city. Tears were starting to well up in the woman's eyes while she watched the city burn. She let one tear escape her eye, and it rolled down her cheek. She didn't start sobbing, nor did she wipe away her tears. She just stood there, waiting for that _one_ tear to let go of her face and be one with the ground. While the tears were still welled up, she slowly and softly spoke:

"I'm sorry Lin, I'm sorry for this mess. I wish it could go any other way, but it had to. I'm so sorry." Another tear left her eye, and rolled softly downwards. She shivered lightly. The tear didn't let go, but she decided that it didn't matter. She turned and faced her two companions.

"Ready to go?" the man said to her.

"Yeah, let's get this over with," she replied. She walked with them towards a Satomobile. They got in and drove off towards the docks, not at a fast nor a slow speed. Just casual like everyone else. But nobody knew that in that one and only Satomobile were the members of the Red Spirits, and they were about to end the first book of their journey.

"Time to finish this."

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**Now that you have finished this chapter, you can review it if you want. I'm not forcing you to do anything, but I appreciate the feedback!  
**


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